Stanley
Abercrombie
Class of 1992
Background:
Stanley A. Abercrombie was born March 25, 1911, in Brockton,
Massachusetts, USA. He received his bachelor of arts degree
in 1934 from Dartmouth College and his master of arts degree
in 1940 from New York University, where he was an assistant
teaching fellow at the Center for Safety Education. He did
postgraduate work in driver education at Pennsylvania State
College (1936) and in highway transportation at American University
(1946).
Professional
Experience:
In 1936-37, Mr. Abercrombie was research assistant at the
Harvard University Bureau of Street Traffic Research, and
in 1937-39 was driver clinic officer in the Wichita, Kansas,
Police Department. He taught driver education in Washington,
D.C. (1940-42) and then served in the Office of Price Administration
(1942-44). He was on active duty in the USNR (1944-46), continuing
inactive until resigning as Lt. Cdr. (1959). From 1946 to
1970 he served on the National Education Association's National
Commission on Safety Education staff in various capacities.
In 1970, he joined the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's
Office of Alcohol Countermeasures, transferring in 1972 to
NHTSA's Region 9 as Highway Safety Management Specialist,
retiring in 1978. While with the National Education Association,
he served as consultant to and edited the reports of six National
Conferences on School Transportation. He organized and served
as secretary of the National Conference on Safety Education
by Colleges and Universities (1951). He edited the reports
of four National Conferences on Driver Education, and in 1968-69
organized and provided staff service for five regional workshops
on motorcycle safety education. During 1958-1961, he was a
member of the Accident Prevention Research Study Section,
U.S. Public Health Service. He participated in voluntary standards
development of the American National Standards Institute on
eye and face protection, school bus inspection procedures
(committee chair), and dual controls in driver education vehicles.
Career
Highlights:
Mr. Abercrombie received a U.S. Public Health Service research
grant in 1961 for a two-year pilot study of school-age accidents
and education. At the 1978 National Conference on Safety Education,
he chaired the Safety Education Dictionary of Terms committee.
Later, he compiled the 1981 and 1988 editions of Dictionary
of Terms Used in the Safety Profession, published by the American
Society of Safety Engineers. His memberships include: National
Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances; National
Safety Council's Traffic Education and Training Committee;
National Safety Management Society; American Academy of Safety
Education; American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association;
and American Society of Safety Engineers (Professional Member
Emeritus since 1979). Mr. Abercrombie authored and co-authored
more than 30 works on a variety of safety subjects, as well
as reviews of books on risk, accident investigation, school
transportation, and other subjects. In 1980, he chaired the
Ninth National Conference on School Transportation, the report
of which, Standards for School Buses and Operations, was published
by the National Safety Council.
